Inductor module is a key module in P-BLOCK power supply module. A conventional inductor module is large in size and heavy in weight, which accounts for over 80% of the whole power supply module in both size and weight. To reduce the size and weight of the inductor module, a pair of EI- or EE-structured magnetic cores is used in existing designs to integrate two separate inductors together to form an integrated inductor module so as to reduce the weight. Moreover, a footprint area occupied by magnetic components on the power board can be efficiently decreased, helping to enhance the power density.
Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an assembly structure of a conventional EI-shaped integrated inductor module, and FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view illustrating the EI-shaped inductor module shown in FIG. 1. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the conventional EI-shaped inductor module includes an I-shaped magnetic core 10, an E-shaped magnetic core 11, and two windings 12. The E-shaped magnetic core 11 comprises a center magnetic column 111 and two side magnetic columns 112.
As shown in FIG. 1, in the conventional EI-shaped inductor module, a tiny first air gap 110 is formed naturally between the center magnetic column 111 and the I-shaped magnetic core 10, while second air gaps 113 are formed between the side magnetic columns 112 and the I-shaped magnetic core 10, after assembly of the I-shaped magnetic core 10 and the E-shaped magnetic core 11 is completed. The first air gap 110 is an assembly air gap generated due to the assembly of two magnetic cores, which is unavoidable in the conventional EI-shaped inductor module. The second air gap 113 is an air gap artificially set in accordance with required inductance. However, when a size of the first air gap 110 and that of the second air gap 113 are in the same order of magnitude or in the similar order of magnitude, the two inductors may be not completely decoupled. Accordingly, when one of the inductors is in operating state while the other one is in non-operating state, a leakage voltage may be induced in the inductor which is in the non-operating state due to electromagnetic coupling between the two inductors.
The above-described information disclosed in the section of background is only for the purpose of contributing to understanding the context of the present disclosure and, thus, it may include information that does not constitute a related art known to those skilled in the art.